FOOTBALL What A Weekend Of Finishes!
On Friday I said that it was going to be a weekend to watch for in college football and, boy howdy was it! Little did I know, when I made that proclamation, that the NFL was going to have great/fantastic finishes as well. But let's focus on college, shall we? Where do I begin? Let's start with what I messed up:
MSU/OSU--I was wrong because Michigan State blew this game. Big time blew it. They could have/should have won, and all State has to show for it is an eleven point loss. As the first half ended, Ohio State blocked a State attempted field goal, and returned the blocked kick for a touchdown. Even if State had just flat out missed that field goal, they go into half-time up 17-7. That swung the game, and State crumbled at the end of an away game. What the deal with getting kicks blocked this weekend, BTW? That will be a running theme, you'll see.
Wisconsin/Minnesota--Minnesota, as a state, sucks. In the closing seconds of the game and up 34-31, Minnesota was set to punt the ball away from the shadow of their own goalposts. The snap was bad, but the Gopher punter decided to try to punt it anyway. That punt was blocked and Wisconsin recovered for a touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game to go up 38-34... what would prove to be the final score of the game. Had Minnesota taken the safety, they would have still been winning 34-33 with 30 seconds left in the game... that's the smart play. The reason they didn't go for the smart play? Minnesota sucks. Ha ha! Go Big Red! Oh yeah, I was wrong about this game, BTW.
Mich/Penn St--But I was not wrong about this game. It didn't go down quiet the way I thought it would, but what a miracle finish for the conceited bastards at Michigan, who scored a touchdown with no seconds left in the game to win 27-25. Hail to the Victors, indeed. Can you say Lloyd Carr just saved his job? I think I just did.
ND/USC--I got this game right, too... unfortunately. In fact, the 34-31 final score was but one point from my predicted 35-31 final score Friday (check Friday if you think I'm lying, bitches). Bias aside, this was the best regular season college football game I've seen in almost a decade... and perhaps the best college football game I've seen since the Fiesta Bowl, Miami/OSU, in 2002. The atmosphere of the ND/USC game certainly felt like a championship game. Do I think the Irish got robbed? A little bit. USC certainly played well enough to deserve the win, but I went from wished Matt Leinart doesn't get hurt this season (before the season... remember I was hoping he would get more players to stay?), to hoping that his stupid face falls off. Leinart is cocky... and I hate that in a player. Speaking of cocky, how about that Reggie Bush, huh? He is an NFL stud already... but that doesn't mean he can slow down on the way to the end zone. I just wish the green-clad Zbikowski would have knocked his head clean off. Do I think the green jerseys were a big much? Yes, yes I do... but I also thought they looked kick ass. Gold numbers on green jerseys?! For years I've thought the Packers should embrace gold instead of the ugly, loud yellow they have in their jerseys. How cool would the Packers look if they were literally green and gold? (answer: VERY) All in all, I'm sure after next season, when the seniors Quinn and Samardzija and the junior running back Darius "Doak" Walker head to USC to smash the Leinart/Bush-less Trojans, I'll look back at this game and say "What a great game that was." But, to paraphrase Lou Holtz, it's only a great/classic game if your team wins it. As such, let's not talk about this one for a while, shall we?